Olympic boxing seedings revealed, with one from Team GB

By Matt Bozeat

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THE seedings for the Olympics in Paris have been revealed.

Of the six boxers from Great Britain who qualified, only Delicious Orie is seeded at super-heavyweight.

The 27-year-old from Small Heath ABC is No 2, behind Joshua Edwards (USA).

America hasn’t produced an Olympic super-heavyweight champion since the weight division was introduced in 1984 and Tyrell Biggs finished on top of the podium in Los Angeles.

Bakhodir Jalolov, the defending champion from Uzbekistan, who beat Frazer Clarke in the semi-finals on the way to gold in Tokyo, is seeded No 4.

That puts Orie on course to meet Jalolov in the semi-finals in Paris.

The International Olympic Committee explained that three of the top four seedings in each weight division were randomly allocated to the winners of the Asian Games (Jalolov), European Games (Orie) and Pan-American Games (Edwards).

The remaining top four seed and No 5 were randomly allocated to the champions of the African Qualifying Tournament (Mourad Kadi from Algeria) and the Pacific Games (Teremoana Junior from Australia).

No 7 seed is Kamshybek Kunkabayev, the Kazakh southpaw who won bronze in Tokyo where he was beaten by Richard Torrez (USA).

Kunkabayev qualified by reaching the final of the Asian Games in China last October, where he was beaten by Jalolov.

Kunkabayev won rounds on three of the judges’ cards.

Jalolov has now won six of their nine clashes and the last five on unanimous points decisions.

Orie’s form has been patchy since he qualified by winning European Games gold in Poland last June.

He was dropped heavily by Italy’s Diego Lenzi in the Boxam tournament in January, but the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist heads to Paris boosted by a points win over Omar Shiha (Norway) in the Czech Republic last month.

Cindy Ngamba, from Bolton and representing the Refugee team in Paris, is unseeded, but has wins over the No 7 and No 8 seeds, Atheyna Bylon and Lovlina Borgohain, this year.

Three Irish boxers have been seeded.

Reigning lightweight champion Kellie Harrington is No 3 seed at 60kgs.

Top seed is Yang Wenlu (China) and No 2 is Beatriz Ferreira, the Brazilian who Harrington outpointed in the final in Tokyo three years ago.

Ferreira heads to Paris as the IBF lightweight champion, winning the vacant belt in Liverpool in April with a technical points win over Yanina del Carmen Lescano.

At middleweight, Aoife O’Rourke is No 2 seed behind Li Quan (China) and Jack Marley is No 7 at heavyweight.

Cuban heavyweight Julio Cesar la Cruz, targeting a third Olympic gold in Paris, is seeded No 4 and Adam Olaore is No 5.

Based in the North East, Olaore is representing Nigeria.

Great Britain team: Men’s: Delicious Orie (92 kgs plus), Pat Brown (92kgs), Lewis Richardson (71kgs).

Women’s: Chantelle Reid (75kgs), Rosie Eccles (66kgs), Charley Davison (54kgs).

Refugee team: Cindy Ngamba (75kgs).

Irish team: Men’s: Jude Gallagher (57kgs), Dean Clancy (63.5kgs), Aidan Walsh (71kgs), Jack Marley (92kgs).

Women’s: Daina Moorehouse (50kgs), Jennifer Lehane (54kgs),  Michaela Walsh (57kgs), Kellie Harrington (60kgs), Grainne Walsh (66kgs), Aoife O’Rourke (75kgs).

Men’s 51kgs: 1) Billal Bennama (France), 2) Hasanboy Dusmatov (Uzbekistan), 3) Patrick Chinyemba (Zambia), 4) Junior Alcantara Reyes (Dom), 5) Yusuf Chothia (Australia), 6) Thitisan Panmot (Thai), 7) Samet Gumus (Turk), 8) Michael Da Silva Trindade (Bra).

57kgs: 1) Abdulmalik Khalolov (Uzb), 2) Javier Ibanez Diaz (Bul), 3) Jahmal Harvey (USA), 4) Harry Senior (Aus), 5) Dolapo Omole Dolapo (Ngr), 6) Saidel Horta Rodriguez Del Rey (Cuba), 7) Shudai Harada (Japan), 8) Jose Quiles Brotons (Esp).

63.5kgs: 1) Wyatt Sanford (Can), 2) Lai Chu-en (Tpe), 3) Jugurtha Ait Bekka (Alg), 4) Sofiane Oumiha (Fra), 5) Harry Garside (Aus), 6) Bunjong Sinsiri (Thai), 7) Lasha Guruli (Geo), 8) Miguel Martinez Ramirez (Mex).

71kgs: 1) Shannan Davey (Aus), 2) Marco Verde Alvarez (Mex), 3) Sewon Okazawa (Jap), 4) Nikolai Terteran (Den), 5) Omar Elawady (Egypt), 6) Vahid Abbasov (Serbia), 7) Jose Rodriguez Tenorio (Ecu), 8) Kan Chia-wei (Tpe).

80 kgs:  1) Tanglatihan Touhetaerbieke (Chi), 2) Arlen Lopez Cardona (Cub), 3) Oleksandt Khyzhniak (Ukr), 4) Abdelgawwad Oraby (Egypt), 5) Callum Peters (Aus), 6) Wanderley De Souza Pereira (Bra), 7) Eumir Marcial (Phi), 8) Gabrijel Veocic (Cro).

92kgs: 1) Ato Plodzicki-Faoagali (Sam), 2) Daviat Boltaev (Tjk), 3) Azziz Abbes Mouhiidine (Ita), 4) Julio Cesar la Cruz (Cuba), 5) Adam Olaore (Nig), 6) Keno Machado (Bra), 7) Jack Marley (Irl), 8) Han Xuezhen (Chi).

92 kgs plus: 1)  Joshua Edwards (USA), 2) Delicious Orie (GB), 3) Mourad Kadi (Alg), 4) Bakhodir Jalolov (Uzb), 5) Teremoana Junior (Aus), 6) Abner Teixeira Da Silva Junior (Bra), 7) Kamshybek Kunkabayev (Kaz), 8) Mahammed Abdullayev (Azer).

Women’s  50kgs: 1) Wu Yu (China), 2) Roumaysa Boualam (Alg), 3) Buse Naz Cakiroglu (Tur), 4) Caroline Barbosa De Almeida (Bra), 5) Monique Suraci (Aus), 6) Jennifer Lozano (USA), 7) Wassila Lkhadiri (Fra), 8) Chuthamt Raksat (Thai).

54kgs: 1) Stanimira Petrova (Bul), 2) Yeni Arias Castaneda (Col), 3) Tiana Eche Garay (Aus), 4) Pang Choi-mi (Prk), 5) Widad Bertal (Mar), 6) Lacramioara Perijoc (Rou), 7) Tatiana De Jesus Chagas (Bra), 8) Chang Yuan (Chi).

57kgs: 1) Lin Yu-ting (Tpe), 2) Tina Rahimi (Aus), 3) Amina Zidani (Fra), 4) Jucielen Cerquera Romeu (Bra), 5) Khouloud Hlimi Ep Moulahi (Tun), 6) Valeria Abroleda Mwndoza (Col), 7) Karina Ibrgaimova (Kaz), 8) Svetlana Staneva (Bul).

60kgs: 1) Yang Wenlu (Chi), 2) Beatriz Soares Ferreira (Bra), 3) Kellie Harrington (Ire), 4) Cynthia Ogunsemilore (Ngr), 5) Tyla McDonald (Aus), 6) Angie Valdes Pana (Col), 7) Won Un-gyong (Pkr), 8) Natalia Shadrina (Srb)

66kgs: 1) Busenaz Surmeneli (Tur), 2) Yang Liu (Chi), 3) Barbara Maria Dos Santos (Bra), 4) Marissa Williamson (Aus), 5) Imane Khelif (Alg), 6) Morelle McCane (USA), 7) Oshin Derieuw (Bel), 8) Janjaem Suwannapheng (Thai).

75kgs: 1) Li Qian (Chi), 2) Aoife O’Rourke (Irl), 3) Tammara Thibeault (Can), 4) Khadjia El-Mardi (Mar), 5) Caitlin Parker (Aus), 6) Davina Michel (Fra), 7) Atheyna Bylon (Pan), 8) Lovlina Borgohain (Ind).